Recently, there’s been a lot of commotion on the internet claiming that praying in the orans position or holding hands during the Our Father, is wrong. But, I’ve been back to the Church for 33 years and those customs were well established when I came back. So, ask yourself, if the Catholic Church has not put a stop to these, can they really be that bad?

I don’t think they’re bad at all. And I’ll explain that in another article. But, in this article, I just want to give some simple guidance as to how to behave in the Mass. It has served me well for many years and no one has ever said that I’m doing anything wrong.

Two Rules

I follow two common sense rules whenever I go to Church, anywhere.

1. I’m obedient to the Pastor.

2. I do what everyone else does

Most of us are uninstructed in the rules of the Mass. I know I’m not. And I don’t know anyone, outside of the clergy, who is. Most of us learn from watching our neighbors and how they behave.

For the most part, the Mass is the same, anywhere you go. But not always. For example. I frequently travel between Houston and El Paso, TX.

Anywhere that you go to Mass in Houston, you will notice that the people kneel before communion, then stand and receive, then return to their seat and kneel until communion is over and the Priest sits.

But in El Paso, the people kneel for communion and then stand and receive, the same way as in Houston, but they don’t kneel when they get back to their pew. They stand until communion is over and the Priest sits.

I don’t know why this difference exists. But I don’t assume its some sort of conspiracy by the laity to take over the Mass. I simply obey the Bishops’ rules in their respective Diocese. When I see all the people doing something together, I assume that they have been instructed to do so and I join them.

One more thing

Oh, yeah, and grab a copy of the missalette. So you can follow along with the prayers. See Apps for the Mass for utilities on your smartphone that help you keep up with the Mass.

Anyway, just to reiterate, follow two simple rules.

1. Obey the Pastor. If he says, “stand”. Stand. If he says, “sit”. Sit.

2. When in Rome, do as the Romans. If they stand, you stand. If they sit, you sit. If they hold hands, you hold hands. Unless you’ve been sneezing, coughing or hacking. In that case, apologize and offer them your elbow.

I’ve done this for 33 years and it has served me well. I hope it helps you, also.

My name is not, De Maria. But De Maria is who I am. About 30 years ago, the internet was new. And many of us, including my wife and I, considered it the Beast of Revelations. Therefore, we stayed off of it. But, one day, after experiencing a very powerful conversion back to the Catholic Church and the Spirit, being strong within me, made me yearn to teach the Faith. Little did I know, how little I knew about the Faith I practiced.

Becoming a Catechism teacher took me back to the days when I was young and hungry for knowledge. But in those days, no one wanted to be bothered answering my questions. And I believe that is one of the reasons why I fell away. No one could explain the Faith to me in a manner that was satisfactory. I didn't want to be that type of Catechist. I wanted to understand so that I could pass on my understanding. But it soon became obvious to me, that I didn't understand very much at all.

Then, one day, someone said, "why don't you ask for explanations on the Internet? There are lots of knowledgeable people there." So, I investigated. And, thanks be to God, I found a now defunct website for Catechists. I learned so much from them. I can't ever repay them.

But, back to my pen name, De Maria. Back then, most of us distrusted the Internet. And this forum for Catechists did not permit us to use our real names. They required pen names. So, since I love Our Lady, I took her name. (I am a guy, by the way.) In the grand tradition of male Saints who have adopted Our Lady's name, for instance, St. Louis "Marie" de Montfort and St. Alphonsus "Marie" de Liquori. And that's who I am. I believe that I belong to Mary and that I am sent by her to preach about her Son.